Satellite image registration for attitude estimation with a constrained polynomial model

Satellite image registration has been investigated for several years. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the linear geometry of the satellite´s imaging sensor, often consisting of several pushbroom cameras. Each pushbroom camera captures 1-D image and uses straight motion of the satellite to build a 2-D image. Yet, attitude variations of the satellite during the aquisition process can lead to significant distortions in the 2-D image. In this paper, we expose the problem and present a constrained image registration method to estimate the satellite´s attitude variations, and thus correct the distorted images. We use a Lucas Kanade framework and a piecewise polynomial model under constraints to deduce the registration equation. The performances of our algorithm are shown on two satellite datasets.